UNICEF: At least 300 children in Gaza killed in 300 days since October 2025 ceasefire

At least 300 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza in the 300 days since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, UNICEF said Thursday, highlighting that child deaths have continued during a truce intended to stop the fighting.

“A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a press release dated Aug. 6. UNICEF’s materials tie that period to the ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, 2025.

UNICEF said the figure reflects reported child deaths and should be understood as a minimum count. The agency has previously said its public tallies cover only incidents where sufficient details were available to record them, meaning the actual number could be higher.

The new figure extends a trend UNICEF had already been documenting for months. On Jan. 13, the U.N. children’s agency said more than 100 children had been killed since the early-October ceasefire. On June 19, it said 265 Palestinian children had been killed across Gaza since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025. In its Aug. 6 update, UNICEF said the total had reached at least 300.

The agency said the continued deaths show that the ceasefire has not adequately protected children. It called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law and said agreements must be matched by concrete measures on the ground.

Those steps, UNICEF said, include ensuring humanitarian access, allowing medical evacuations, protecting children and restoring essential services. The agency specifically pointed to the need to bring hospitals, water systems and schooling back into operation, amid continued humanitarian strain in Gaza that UNICEF and other U.N. reporting have linked to risks facing children.